CBOM 45

chapter 45

At that moment.

Duke Foret felt calm and at peace after Livanu had left.

He wondered if he had ever felt so stable and good in his life.

It seemed as if everything was falling into place.

Above all, Shinovern had shown talent in swordsmanship.

Although the Foret family had a long lineage of scholars, Shinovern had never particularly stood out intellectually, so teaching him swordsmanship had been a secondary plan.

But discovering this unexpected talent brought joy.

Having any talent at all was what mattered.

“Duke.”

“Yes? What is it?”

At that moment, the butler arrived.

“A letter has arrived from Albatana.”

“…Again?”

Sophie usually sent letters demanding money every month.

The amounts had gradually increased, which was already annoying, and now, barely a month had passed, and there was already another letter. The duke’s previously good mood shattered instantly.

“Give it here.”

The duke tore open the letter roughly, and his expression stiffened immediately.

The butler watched the duke expressionlessly, though a faint curiosity betrayed him.

But even without reading, Sophie’s letters were always a sign of trouble.

“This lowly maid is threatening me.”

“Excuse me?!”

Although he had anticipated some mischief, the duke’s words startled the butler.

A maid threatening the duke?

It was absurd.

“Could it be… she’s using Leto to threaten me?”

“Yes. Truly insane. She must have been let loose too carelessly until now.”

The duke’s expression hardened dangerously, radiating an almost palpable aura.

Though he had never wielded a sword in his life, the resolve he carried as a duke could not be hidden.

The butler swallowed nervously.

“How shall we handle it?”

“Kill her.”

For the duke, quietly eliminating a person was no problem at all.

“Yes. Should we just handle Sophie and leave the rest? And what about Leto?”

Eliminating Leto as well would prevent future trouble.

But the duke had a reason for keeping Leto alive so far.

If Shinovern were to fail, he could always consider bringing in an illegitimate child.

Though, judging by Shinovern’s progress, it didn’t seem necessary to bring Leto in yet, but one could never predict such things.

“…Leave Leto be.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Leto was essentially harmless, so if problems arose in the future, dealing with him would be easy.

Thus, the duke decided to only handle Sophie for the time being.

A few days later, the duke received another letter.

“Grace, you say?”

“Yes. The name of the maid who went with Master Livanu.”

“Hm…”

Looking at the letter, it was again about Sophie.

Sophie and the other maids were causing so much trouble that not a single day passed peacefully.

“That wretched Sophie…”

The duke gritted his teeth. Low-level troublemakers were the problem everywhere. And having already been burned once by a head maid named Winia, his irritation flared.

“Did Sophie cause trouble?”

A few insignificant annoyances could be ignored, but this had crossed the line.

“She even dared to act arrogantly toward Livanu.”

“Excuse me?”

“…Impossible. Unthinkable.”

Even though he had abandoned his firstborn, hearing that a mere maid had disrespected him—and that this news reached his ears—was a different matter.

“Deal with it immediately. And kill all the maids under Sophie as well.”

Normally, the duke would not have been so harsh, no matter how ruthless he was, but the Winia incident had changed his mindset.

More than anything, Sophie was far too greedy.

Sophie probably assumed the duke knew nothing, but she actually knew far too much, and he was already planning to handle her.

In a way, it was fortunate.

“Hah…”

When the duke had learned that Winia had secretly taken the duke’s maids to secure a title for Grino, he had laughed in disbelief.

He had only recently found out about this.

Of course, Winia had already been executed for all her crimes, but even if he had known earlier, it would not have made much difference.

He was simply grateful to whoever had revealed this to him, even if late.

It was also surprising to learn that this person was acquainted with Grino, but still, the scale of mischief was not something Winia and a single slave dealer could handle, so the matter had been stopped before it got too far.

Whatever grudges Grino held against Foret, being an eccentric magician, he probably acted foolishly.

Honestly, a few lowly maids disappearing was hardly a major issue for the duke.

Anyway, the overlap with the Winia incident made things worst for Sophie.

“Yes. Understood.”

Grace’s letter had requested moderate punishment, but she didn’t trust Sophie fully and suspected she would cause more trouble eventually.

In hindsight, action should have been taken sooner.

“Just in case, check and make sure there are no other issues. Sophie was too reckless for her own good.”

Did she really think holding one illegitimate child gave her power? The duke found the notion laughable.

“No, like Winia, she may not have acted alone. Even though there’s nothing in the Albatana domain, she often goes beyond the mountains—she may have tried something. If it’s just low-level minions, eliminate them all, otherwise, report back.”

“Yes.”

“…As for Leto, leaving him be should be fine; they’ll handle him themselves.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why care? He’s just a discarded item anyway.”

To the duke, the sons in Albatana were merely objects—Livanu was discarded, Leto was reserved. Their value differed, but they were ultimately just possessions.

“Understood. I’ll handle it as you instructed.”

The duke did not realize that this was exactly what Grace had intended.

In the end, as Grace had planned, he could act without lifting a finger.

Grace considered how to deal with Sophie.

Although the duke would handle her, she thought it appropriate to inform Leto first.

“Speaking up is the right thing to do.”

Livanu agreed.

“But isn’t that too harsh for the child right now?”

Esi thought they should wait and tell him gradually. There was no benefit in revealing it immediately.

“So when would be appropriate?”

“At least when Leto is old enough to understand the situation…”

“Keep Sophie locked up until then? I don’t mind how long, but right now she may feel desperate. If the period drags on, she may try to escape.”

“She won’t do anything. She’s already powerless—would she try to run?”

“She may just be pretending, watching and waiting.”

Grace agreed with Livanu. Sophie seemed to be timing her chance when her supervision was lax.

“Ah.”

“It was strange. She gave up everything too quickly.”

“…That’s true.”

Esi seemed to realize something was off as well.

Most people would attempt escape, even aggressively, rather than remain powerless—but Sophie did not.

“If you’re right, Master, she’s scarier than expected.”

Esi muttered in surprise.

“But what good would telling him do? Sophie actually murdered your mother. And then?”

“Ah, difficult.”

Livanu squeezed his eyes shut.

Even his own life had been difficult, and now he realized even little seven-year-old Leto had a heavy burden.

“But do we really have to tell him?”

“Hm?”

“Sometimes ignorance is a blessing. No matter when it’s revealed, I think it’s better Leto doesn’t know.”

Esi had changed her mind. Better to bury it completely rather than tell him later.

That had merit; knowing wouldn’t benefit him.

“Still, it’s about his mother…”

No matter how the three of them debated, there was no easy solution.

If they didn’t tell him, it concerned family; if they did, they’d have to explain that Sophie, who had abused him all this time, killed his mother.

“It might be good to hear Leto’s thoughts.”

“You mean tell him?”

“No, just gauge him.”

“…Ah.”

“Leto grew up without his mother. He may want to know.”

“…Right. He may want to know what kind of person gave birth to him, even if it’s awful.”

“Exactly.”

For now, no decision was made, and the matter was left unresolved.